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MBP bootcamp RAM problem

I

Iceman332k1

macrumors newbie
Original poster
I am running Windows 7 Professional (32 bit) through boot camp. The problem is that it recognizes all 4gb of ram I have installed, but only says 2.725-2.75gb is usable. Through Windows 7 I only have the option of using the discrete nVidia 9600m GT graphics card, so the integrated graphics card not being used couldn't (or at least shouldn't) be using memory, and even so I believe it shouldn't use more than 256mb. Also, I checked and W7 32bit is able to recognize up to 4gb of memory. Finally, the missing 1.25gb is not being used by system memory, so I am completely at a loss as to why it is being recognized but not used.

I'm not sure if it matters, but I am using the 2x2gb ram sticks that came stock with the laptop.
 
What you are seeing is accurate, not just for a Mac running Bootcamp but for all systems running Win 7 32 bit. Only 2.75GB are addressable.
 
Any version of Windows 7 32-bit can only recognize up to 3 GB of RAM. Therefore the 2.75 it is seeing is probably accurate. In order to maximize the full 4 GB, you would need to upgrade to a 64-bit version.
 
First off there is the limitation of running a 32-bit Win OS. It can see 4Gb but only use 3.25 too 3.5 Gb. It has to do with how the system can use it with only so many numbers. The last missing bit taken from the 3.5 probably goes to the video card. I'm not really sure.
 
Intell said:
First off there is the limitation of running a 32-bit Win OS. It can see 4Gb but only use 3.25 too 3.5 Gb. It has to do with how the system can use it with only so many numbers. The last missing bit taken from the 3.5 probably goes to the video card. I'm not really sure.
Click to expand...

It all has to do with address space. Every hardware component needs an address, so the more components, the less available addresses. Your dedicated video card takes up 256mb of address space as well, so it gets eaten up quickly.
 
Windows is very inefficient when it comes to RAM management and 32/64 bit software. Snow Leopard lets you run 64 bit applications while the system kernel is booted into 32 bit mode. And all you have to do it hold down the "6" and the "4" keys at boot. In Windows, you have to decide which OS you will run during the installation process. You cannot have more than 3 GB of RAM addressed at the same time. In Snow Leopard, you can address that much memory, and more in 32 bit mode. Yeah, you need to upgrade to 64 bit Windows 7 if you want to utilize that last gigabyte of RAM memory.
 
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